Clinton Denies Taped Bin Laden Admission, Blames 'Misquote'

NewsMax.com ^ | April 9, 2004 | Carl Limbacher

[Carl/NewsMax]

During his private interview with the 9/11 Commission on Thursday, ex-President Bill Clinton denied that he told a New York business group in 2002 that he turned down an offer from Sudan for Osama bin Laden's extradition to the U.S., according to 9/11 Commissioner Bob Kerrey.

"Bill Clinton said yesterday that, that was a misquote," Kerrey told WDAY Fargo, North Dakota radio host Scott Hennen, in an interview set for broadcast on Monday.

A transcript of the exchange between Hennen and Kerrey was read on the air by national radio host Sean Hannity late Friday. It shows that the 9/11 Commission was unaware that Clinton's bombshell admission that he spurned the bin Laden offer had been recorded by NewsMax.

After Kerrey said Clinton had denied the quote, Hennen said, "But wait a minute - I heard it in his own voice. I've heard him say it. I have the tape of him saying just that."

"Really?" said a perplexed Kerrey. "Well, then - ship it to me, because Clinton said yesterday [in private 9/11 testimony] that he didn't have a recollection of that."

Clinton made the bombshell admission to the Long Island Association on Feb. 15, 2002. Though the LIA videotaped his appearance, the group has refused requests for copies from NBC News, Fox News and NewsMax.

Though NewsMax has the only publicly available recording of Clinton's remarks that day, they were also reported by Newsday the next day.

Transcript of Clinton's admission:

We'd been hearing that the Sudanese wanted America to start dealing with them again.

They released him. At the time, 1996, he had committed no crime against America so I did not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him, though we knew he wanted to commit crimes against America.

So I pleaded with the Saudis to take him, 'cause they could have. But they thought it was a hot potato and they didn't and that's how he wound up in Afghanistan. [End of Excerpt]

To hear ex-President Clinton make the admission that he denied making to the 9/11 Commission, Click Here.

[FlyVet]

Once in a while he probably mistakenly and accidently tells the truth while trying to lie about lying about the lie.

Quote of the day. Isn't Kerrey the one who described Clinton as "a very good liar"?

[Bogey78O]

Well technically he didn't commit perjury if it wasn't sworn testimony. I doubt they would even bother with that liar.

[wildbill]

I don't believe Clinton, ALGORE testified under oath as a mark of respect to the Presidency; neither will Dubya and Cheney.

No oath, no perjury.

[NYC GOP Chick]

Well, I can certainly understand why the commission didn't feel the need to put him under oath... Why did they even bother with this known perjurer, court-certified liar and disbarred jackass?

Concepts such as "truth" and "lie" don't mean the same to him that mean to most normal, sane non-sociopaths. To him, the only difference between the two is that one sounds better than the other, and that's how he decides what to say at any given moment in time.

[tonyinv]

How can that not be the point? Why would billyjeff's refusal of the alleged offer be of any significance at all if we couldn't do anything with him?

The point here is not truth or facts or even right or wrong, its politics. Thats what this has all come down to. The dems want the sheep to beleive that had President Bush done something against UBL in his first 9 months in office 9/11 would have been avoided, while they ignore the fact that Clinton did nothing. Regardless of when you want to say that we should have been able to go after UBL, it was long before Jan 20,2001. Yet the dems want to blame it all on President Bush, thats dirty politics. Its time we start playing on the same field we've been getting beat on.

I don't see the divide as January 2001 (i.e. Clinton / Bush). The divide is August 1998. Before that, we had no knowledge that he had attacked us. After that, we did.

Is a declaration of war against us not enough? Was the first World Trade Center bombing then Somalia, not enough?

The dems have never had any problem not using logic and fact when attacking the repubs, its time we turn their own tactics on them.

Petty? Maybe, but this is what we have to deal with. I've been paying attention to politcs is earnest for 12 years now and I have seen no evidence that leads me to beielve that staying on the highground works.

[NYC GOP Chick]

My guess is that Kerrey will sweet this under the rug and forget about it.

So what? Kean is the chairman, and he is the one who should be receiving this!

[Terry Mross]

Kerrey saying he "doesn't know" about the audio tape shows just how big a liar Kerrey is. This is that great war hero who tried to get the military's votes thrown out in Florida. I despise him!

[NYC GOP Chick]

You know Richard Clarke has said x42 gave orders to kill Bin Laden. The only question he hasn't answered is when. So either Clarke or Clinton is lying.

What I don't understand is that, on one hand, we hear that Clintigula gave the orders to kill UBL, but then we've also been told that he said to capture him alive and kill *only* if he resists arrest.

[scott7278]

"Instead it would be about who leaked the info."

That made me chuckle, but it's so sad because it's the truth.

[NYC GOP Chick]

I will BOOK any Bets from Freepers who say CLINTON will be accused and charged with PERJURY by the 911 Commission.

I believe that he wasn't under oath, just as Rice wasn't when she testified in private.

[No Blue States]

LOL!!!!!

Perfect.

[Levante]

This article needs a LYING BASTARD alert!

[tonyinv]

Lackawana six was AFTER 9/11..dont confuse the climate of pre 9/11 with the climate of post 9/11.

As for evidence, go ahead and show me a time when evidence mattered to the left? Had President Bush come out in August and said we need to focus our energies on Terrorism, something big is going to happen. It would have been ridiculed as a political ploy.

Mind you this isn't speculation on my part. Even today the left is saying Iraq was all about oil and reelection and keeping the country "afraid".

Consider all the evidence we had against Saddam and WMD and look at the reaction of not only the left but the rest of the limpnoodled "international community" when the President decided there would be no "only ifs.." anymore.

[lavrenti]

Oh heck, girl! Ain't you ever heard of bi-polar? One order was on the top end of the cycle, the following on the downward spiral.

Not to make fun of BP, but the stories coming out make me think they should have put Lithium in the White House water supply at the time.

[lavrenti]

I believe that he wasn't under oath, just as Rice wasn't when she testified in private.

Thus he felt at ease and wasn't lawyered up. Babbled like a brook and came off looking seriously unaware and rather stupid.

Carroll Quigley must be spinning in his grave. Then again, probably not since he roasted his former students' generation rather goodly in his boooring opus Tragedy and Hope.

[Loyal Buckeye]

Kerrey, the political hack, is lying to cover for Clinton.

[NYC GOP Chick]

I've heard this "damning" charge thrown about and it has always made me wonder - what would we have done with OBL in '96? It has always been my understanding that we hadn't even linked him to '93 WTC at that point.

Were the Khobar Towers bombed before or after this alleged offer was made in 1996? Anyway, by that point, UBL had already declared war on us, and I'm pretty sure (can't remember where I've read it) that there was at least some evidence tying UBL to the 93 bombing. In any event, Clinturd could have quietly made him disappear at that point, thereby sparing us untold misery.

[NYC GOP Chick]

It wouldn't surprise me if he's bipolar -- in addition to being a sociopath with narcissistic personality disorder.

[lavrenti]

Had he made the effort regarding international threats to the United States that he had to his personal enemies then perhaps he would have gone down far differently in history rather than the current perception...which mainly has to do with going down.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

When the Democraps get caught in a lie, it's always a "misquote".